U21s preview: Sunderland v Arsenal

Our young Gunners look to bounce back in the Premier League 2 when they take on Sunderland on Monday, March 23, knowing a win will secure an end-of-season play-off spot.

The match will take place at Eppleton Colliery Football Ground, with kick-off scheduled for 7pm (UK time). The game will be available to stream on The Arsenal app and on Arsenal.com.

Our under-21s' strong start to 2026 has stalled in recent weeks, with the side winless in their last three. A draw with Norwich City came between defeats to Ipswich Town and, most recently, a 5-1 loss to Leicester City, when Evan Mooney's strike at the end of the first half proved only a consolation.

However with three games of the regular season to go, we currently remain in the qualification places for the knockout stages, sitting in 11th with 26 points. One more win from those final matches would be enough to secure a spot in the play-offs and keep our hopes of silverware alive.

THE OPPOSITION

The Black Cats had picked up just two PL2 victories before February, but have since turned their league form around with a five-game winning streak, only halted by last weekend's setback to Chelsea. The 4-0 loss in west London leaves them two points below us in the table, in 14th place.

In other competitions, the Wearsiders still await confirmation of their opponents for the Premier League Cup semi-finals, after qualifying as runners-up in Group H and seeing off Nottingham Forest and Watford in the previous rounds.

The Black Cats narrowly missed out on progressing from the group stage of the Premier League International Cup, finishing third behind Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United. They also failed to proceed from the National League Cup initial stage.

We last faced Sunderland in December 2024, when Nathan Butler-Oyedeji's strike wasn't enough in a 2-1 home defeat.

HOW TO FOLLOW

You can watch our game against Sunderland live for free on The Arsenal app and on Arsenal.com, with coverage starting at 6.55pm (UK time) for a 7pm kick-off.

Live updates will be available throughout the match on our academy's official X account. Post-match, highlights will be available of all the key action from Eppleton Colliery Football Ground.